Carding machines



Sept. 9, 1969 J, M. J. VARGA 3,

CARDING MACHINES Filed Jan. 25, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 JOLn Vwea.

INVE NTOR:

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Sept. 9, 1969 J, M. J. VARGA 3,465,389

CARDING MACHINES Filed Jan. 25. 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 w J FIG. 6

Joan M J. v0.5a.

INVENTOR:

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CARDING MACHINES Filed Jan. 25, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 75 FIG. 74

FIG. 78

FIG. 7C

INVEN'IOR.

JOHN M. J. VARGA United States Patent Office 3,465,389 Patented Sept. 9, 1969 3,465,389 CARDING MACHINES John Maximiliam Jules Varga, 318 Lytton Blvd., Toronto 12, Ontario, Canada Filed Jan. 25, 1967, Ser. No. 611,736 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Jan. 27, 1966,

3,675/ 66 I Int. Cl. D01g 15/00 US. CI. 19-98 20 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to carding machines.

It is well known that for a correct carding action it is essential to maintain a predetermined setting gap between the cylinder and the doffer and also between the cylinder and other co-operating means such as the flats in a cotton carding machine, and also between the cylinder and the licker in roller or other feed means.

It has been found with the generally known form of mounting frame that the setting gap in one or more parts of the machine can inadvertently alter due to changes in the stresses and/or strains, or the bending of the frame, or subsidence or flexion of the ground or floor area on which the machine is located. Invariably the machine frame comprises two main cast iron side members, which support bearings and the so-called bend on each side of the frame to support the flats or workers and stripper rollers.

In view of the above the setting gap of the carding machine can change and the error remain unnoticed for some time, necessitating that the machine be stopped with consequent loss of time and production so that re-setting can take place at intervals.

According to the invention a carding machine includes a frame comprising two oppositely disposed longitudinally extending beams each supported at each of its ends by support means in such a manner as to permit pivotal movement of the beams at each of their ends about horizontal transverse axes relative to said support means, at least two rollers of the carding machine being mounted in pairs of oppositely disposed bearings carried by said beams.

The invention will be further apparent from the following description with reference to the several figures of the accompanying drawings which show by way of example only a number of forms of carding machine embodying the invention.

Of the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of one form of frame for a carding machine constructed in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of an alternative form of frame for a carding machine constructed in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a still further form of frame for a carding machine constructed in accordance with the invention.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show longitudinal cross-sectional views through the two kinds of fully self-aligning swivel utilized in the frame of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 shows a transverse cross-section through the frame of FIG. 3 with an optional accessory fitted thereto.

FIG. 7 shows a side elevation of a carding machine embodying the invention.

FIG. 7A is a plan view of the frame arrangement of FIG. 7 with some parts removed for clarity. FIG. 7B is a cross-section on the line 7B7B of FIG. 7A. FIG. 7C is a detail view of an alternative method of securing the subframe.

FIG. 8 shows a side view of the cylinder of FIG. 7 with a wheel-like carrier member provided for auxiliary purposes, and

FIG. 8A is a detail plan view of the arrangement of FIG. 8 with part shown in section for clarity.

The essential concept of the invention is the provi sion of two oppositely disposed longitudinal beams which are mounted in such manner by support means that movement of the support means causes minimal changes in stresses and/ or strains in said beams, thereby disturbing the setting gaps between the rollers of the machine carried on the beams to a minimal extent.

Referring now to FIG. 1 it will be seen that the frame of a carding machine includes two oppositely disposed spaced parallel substantially horizontal beams 10 and 11 carried by forwardly and rearwardly disposed U- shaped support members 13 and 14. Each of the support members 13 and 14 is disposed with its connecting web 13a, 14a, respectively, between the two limbs thereof against the ground, and each vertical limb has an outwardly directed pivot pin at or adjacent its upper end. Each of the beams 10 and 11 has a bore adjacent each of its ends and the two beams are mounted with said pivot pins engaging said bores. It will be appreciated that each of the beams 10 and 11 is free to pivot about a transverse axis relative to the supports 13 and 14 at each of its ends. The beams 10 and 11 carry, on their upper sides, oppositely disposed pairs of bearing blocks generally indicated at 15 to receive the ends of the axles of at least the cylinder and doffer of the carding machine.

It will be appreciated that in the event of movement of one or both of the supports 13 and 14 in any manner no changes of bending moment in a vertical plane are introduced into either of the beams 10 or 11, and that the setting gap between the cylinder and doffer will remain substantially constant. In this connection it should be noted that although crossing of the axles of adjacent rollers can occur, this does not substantially affect the setting gap with the size of roller involved.

Referring now to FIG. 2 an alternative form of frame, in many respects similar to that of FIG. 1 is shown. In this case it will be seen that the beams 10 and 11 are integrally formed with a connecting web 16. The ends of the beams 10 and 11 remote from the connecting web 16 are mounted as before on a U-shaped support member having a web 13b and support arms 13c, whilst the midpoint of the connecting web 16 is supported by a fulcrum point generally indicated at 17.

Preferably the beams 10 and 11 have additional freedoms of movement to prevent changes of bending moment in a horizontal plane or torsional strains therein. Thus referring to FIG. 3 it will be seen that the beams 10 and 11 are again secured between U-shaped supporting members 13 and 14. In this case, however, the beams 10 and 11 are connected with the limbs of the support members 13 and 14 by fully self-aligning swivels 18 and 19. The U-shaped support members 13 and 14 are connected by tie bars 20 which ensure that the planes of the U-shaped members 13 and 14 retain parallelism. FIGS. 4 and 5 show the structure of the fully self-aligning swivels 18 and 19 in greater detail. It will be seen that whilst the swivel 19 shown in FIG. 5 permits universal swivelling movement of the beam relative to the frame member 14 the swivel shown in FIG. 4 additionally enables longitudinal axial movement between the frame member 13 and beam 10.

In the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 it is necessary that some means are provided to constrain rotation of the beams 10 and 11 about their longitudinal axes in space, whilst allowing them to retain their freedom to rotate relative to one or both of the support members 13 and 14. Means to ensure that the beams 10 and 11 maintain their angular position with regard to their longitudinal axes in space may conveniently take the form shown in FIG. 6, where it will be seen that each of the beams 10 and 11 is provided with a dependent plate 21 having a vertical slot 22 therein which is engaged by one of the tie bars 20. Where such positive means are provided for maintaining the angular position of the beams 10 and 11 with respect to their longitudinal axes constant, the cylinder, doffer and other rollers carried by the beams can be supported in bearings of such a kind that the axle ends of the cylinder and dolfer and other rollers received by the bearings can swivel universally with respect to the beams.

If such positive means are not provided an equivalent effect may be achieved by having at least one pair of oppositely disposed bearings fixed relative to the beams except that such bearings may be permitted to turn about a vertical axis relative to the beams, and locating the axle ends non-swivellably therein.

Preferably the center of the bearing blocks are on a line with the centres of the swivels at either end of the beams.

Whilst all the transversely extending rollers of the carding machine might be mounted on one frame it will frequently be found convenient to provide two or even more frames. In such cases the taker-in, cylinder, and doffer may be provided on a main frame and auxiliary breast rollers may be mounted on a sub-frame. As can be seen from FIG. 7 the cylinder 25, doffer 26 and taker in 27 are mounted in bearings 15 carried by a main frame including beams 10 and 11 as described above whilst an auxiliary breast roller 28 is mounted in bearings carried by a sub-frame. This sub-frame may conveniently take the form of a U-sha ed member whose opposite limbs define beams 30 and 31 connected by a web 32, the web 32 being pivoted on a fulcrum 33 (see FIG. 7B) and the ends of the beams 30 and 31 remote from the web 32 being pivotally connected by means of pivot pins 30a and 31a about a horizontal axis with the end of the beams 10 and 11, as can be seen in FIG. 7A. As an alternative the ends of the beams 30 and 31 may be pivoted about a horizontal axis by pivot pins 30b and 31b to the frame member 13 (see FIG. 7C). Again the ends of the beams 30 and 31 remote from the web 32 may be connected with either the beams 10 and 11 or support member 13 by universal swivel couplings of the kinds shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. In such a case one of the swivel couplings preferably takes the form of that shown in FIG. 4 to permit axial movement of one side of the sub-frame relative to the main frame.

Referring again to FIG. 7 it will be seen that the setting gap between the rollers 27 and 28 which are mounted on the sub-frame and main frame respectively will remain substantially unaltered by pivotal movement of the sub-frame relative to the main frame about a horizontal transverse axis, if the centres of the rollers 27 and 28 and the pivot point between the sub frame and main frame are linearly aligned. Similarly a stripper roller 29, which is rigidly mounted on the support member 14 will retain a substantially constant setting gap with regard to the doffer 26 if the pivot points 19 are on line with the centres of the doffer 26 and stripper roller 29.

In any of the arrangements described herein it is advantageous to provide wheel-like members 40 as seen in FIGS. 8 and SA on each side of the cylinder 25, such wheel-like members 40 being fixedly mounted by bolts 40a on the bearings 15 provided for the axle of cylinder 25 so that they are forced to retain alignment and parallelism with the cylinder ends. The upper portions of the wheel periphery may carry arcuate members 41 bolted by means of bolts 41a onto a flange of the wheel-like member 40 to act as conventional flexible bends for controlling a flats run or alternatively may carry shim 42 for a like purpose. The shims 42 may conveniently be bolted by bolts 42a onto the periphery of the wheel-like member 40. Again, the lower parts of the peripheries of the wheel-like members 40 may act as securing means for screens, cover-plates or the like 43 bolted thereto by bolts 43a provided on the underside of the cylinder periphery. By this arrangement the flats, screens and cover plates are forced to follow any movements of cylinder and setting gaps therebetween remain constant.

What is claimed is:

1. A carding machine including a frame comprising two oppositely disposed longitudinally extending beams, support and pivot means at each end of each of said beams, said beams being pivotly connected to said support and pivot means permitting pivotal movement of said beams about horizontal transverse axes relative to said support means, at least two pairs of oppositely disposed bearings on said beams, a roller mounted in each of said pairs.

2. A carding machine according to claim 1 wherein said frame includes a subframe comprising two oppositely disposed second beams and a connecting web, said second beams carrying pairs of oppositely disposed bearings, further rollers of said carding machine in said pairs of bearings, said subframe being connected with said support and pivot means of the said frame for pivotal movement relative thereto about a horizontal transverse axis.

3. A carding machine according to claim 2 and including a fulcrum, wherein said subframe comprises a U- shaped member having opposite legs and a connecting web and whose opposite legs constitute said second beams, the connecting web between said legs being supported on said fulcrum and the ends of said legs remote from said web being pivotally connected with said frame.

4. A carding machine according to claim 2 wherein said support means for said frame have pivot means, and the ends of said second beams remote from said connecting web are pivotally connected with said pivot means of the support means for said frame.

5. A carding machine according to claim 2 wherein said beams of said frame have pivot means and the ends of said second beams remote from said web are pivotally connected at said pivot means with the beams of said frame.

6. A carding machine according to claim 2 wherein said pivot means between said subframe and said frame comprise fully self-aligning swivels.

7. A carding machine according to claim 2 wherein the centers of the bearings for one of said rollers on said subframe and a roller on the frame are adapted to cooperate and are linearly aligned with the connection between said subframe and said frame.

8. A carding machine according to claim 2 wherein one of said rollers is a carding machine cylinder, a wheellike member is fixedly secured at each side of said cylinder to bearings therefor to move with said cylinder to retain alignment and parallelism therewith, said wheel-like member adapted to carry guide means for flats and to secure cover plates and screens to pass therebetween on the underside of said cylinder.

9. A carding machine according to claim 2 wherein a carding machine cylinder is on said frame, a wheel-like member is fixedly secured at each side of said cylinder to bearings therefor to move with said cylinder to retain alignment and parallelism therewith, said wheel-like member adapted to carry guide means for flats and to secure cover plates and screens to pass therebetween on the underside of said cylinder.

10. A carding machine according to claim 1 wherein said beams are formed by opposite legs of a U-shaped member, each member having a connecting web between said legs adapted to be supported on a fulcrum and constituting one of said support means.

11. A carding machine according to claim 1 wherein each of said beams is secured to said support means at each of its ends by a fully self-aligning swivel.

12. A carding machine according to claim 11 wherein said swivel at one end of each beam includes means for permitting axial movement of said beam relative to said support means.

13. A carding machine according to claim 12 wherein said frame includes a subframe comprising two oppositely disposed second beams carrying pairs of oppositely dis posed bearings, further rollers of said carding machine in said pairs of bearings, said su-bframe being connected with said frame for pivotal movement relative thereto about a horizontal transverse axis.

14. A carding machine according to claim 13 and including a fulcrum, wherein said subframe comprises a U-shaped member whose opposite legs constitute said second beams, said U-shaped member having a connecting web connecting said legs, said connecting web between said legs being supported on said fulcrum and the ends of said legs remote from said web having pivot means connected with said frame.

15. A carding machine according to claim 11 including means for maintaining said beams in constant angular relation with respect to their longitudinal axes relative to said support means.

16. A carding machine according to claim 12 including means for maintaining said beams in constant angular relation with respect to their longitudinal axes in space, said beams being rotatable about their longitudinal axes relative to said support means.

17. A carding machine according to claim 16 wherein said means for maintaining said beams in constant angular relation includes a longitudinally extending tie bar provided between said support means.

18. A carding machine according to claim 17 wherein said means for maintaining said beams in constant angular relation further includes each of said beams having a depending plate extending therefrom, an elongated slot in said plate, said tie bar being located in said slot.

19. A carding machine according to claim 18 wherein there is provided means for universal swivelling movement of the axle ends of said rollers with respect to said beams.

20. A carding machine according to claim 15 wherein there is provided means for universal swivelling movement of the axle ends of said rollers with respect to said beams.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 244,342 7/1881 Tyning 1998 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,971 1793 Great Britain. 5,355 1826 Great Britain.

- DORSEY NEWTON, Primary Examiner 

